Reluctant Hero (The Dunamis Covenant Book 1)

by Ron Francis

"Would that have stopped you if you knew? I know you crave power, Darcy, I suspect you were going to try and seduce me to get it. Your plan would not have worked, but my son would be a great second choice for you."

  "It's not like that, sir, I really didn't know—"

  "Easy, Darcy, Not even Antonio knew," he interrupted. "I believe you are one of the most powerful Dark Shifters we have, and I am considering giving you the position you have requested. It would go a long way to legitimizing your position, if you were by my son's side."

  "What?" they simultaneously yelled. Lucas smug grin was gone. He wanted nothing to do with this woman. While he might not mind the occasional dabble on the dark side, mostly to get his father off his back, Darcy was pure evil. She craved the very power he wanted nothing to do with. A betrothal to her would further entrench him in this war that he was hoping to avoid.

  "Dad, this is a terrible idea, we don't exactly get along. Give her the top spot, she deserves it, but please don't make me part of the deal."

  "You have no say, son, your days of childish philandering are over. Darcy shall be your mate, this will strengthen my power." Lucas started to speak again, but a look from his father told him that would not be wise. He instead tried to storm out of the office when without warning, he felt himself floating back towards his father. He was placed on the carpet, right next to Darcy. He looked at both of them with intense eyes. "Darcy, this is as close to what you want as I can give you, take it or leave it. Lucas, no one is saying you or Darcy cannot stray on occasion, just be discreet. It is my hope you can learn to live with one another, but I am not making it a demand. This will happen, like it or not, unless Darcy no longer wishes to be the top Dark Shifter in the organization. It's her choice."

  Lucas looked to Darcy who smiled at him with mischief in her eyes. She had been surprised to hear Lucas say she deserved the top spot, but it was not enough. She looked back to Devlin and replied, "I would be delighted to be your son's mate."

  "Good, we shall have a quick and quiet ceremony, nothing big since you have already been intimate. Tomorrow, you shall both be introduced to the organization as man and wife and at the very least, you had better put on a convincing show for the Clans." He turned to walk away, indicating that the conversation was over, but Lucas wasn't ready to let it drop.

  "Dad!" he yelled "Dad, wait!" Devlin stopped and turned. "Why am I being punished here? You would already have Thomas if Darcy hadn't screwed up my plans. I shouldn't be punished for that."

  "I would hardly call being forced to marry a beautiful woman, that I know you find attractive, punishment, son."

  "You know it is, dad! Why? I didn't even know Thomas was the one you sought until he showed me the picture of Abby. He never manifested any powers or indicated in any way that he was different. You didn't know for sure either, dad, or you would have killed him six years ago. Maybe you should have just killed him when you suspected instead of making me go through this six year charade. It's just as much your fault as it is mine, so don't punish me for it." Lucas could talk to his father this way because he was his son, but he knew he was approaching the limit to his father's tolerance.

  "You want to know why, Lucas? Fine! It's because I know you do not want this war, this power, any of it. I know that you never intended to bring Thomas before me. You had six years to do it, Son. I don't believe you that he never seemed different. He's too powerful. That's why Darcy went in without me telling you, I knew you would try to help your friend. While your loyalty is admirable, it is also misplaced! Now, you shall be part of the power structure here, in DC, whether you like it or not. I will have both Darcy and Antonio to help keep an eye on you. Now go get yourself ready, Lucas, you have a big night ahead of you. Tomorrow, the world finds out you are my son, then any illusion of a friendship with Thomas Hunter will be wiped away forever, and you can begin to learn what it takes to run this organization."

  "Oh, I think I know what it takes." Lucas turned from his father, the disdain evident as he stormed out of the room. He had never liked his father, but right now, he hated him. The thoughts swirled in his head. Thomas is going to hate me and I can't blame him. I'd be pissed if it were me. That was my father's whole plan. He's hoping Thomas will seek some kind of vengeance that will finally push me over the edge. Lucas flung open the door to his room and then shut it behind him with a telekinetic slam. He had to find a way out, before it was too late.

  Chapter twenty-six

  Thomas was enjoying some quality alone time with Abby. They had walked and talked, then they stopped for a little while to kiss. They had figured out through trial and painful error how long they could kiss before the pain hit, and then they would stop just short. That was a nice distraction, but most of the morning had been about learning more about Abby. Aside from his insane attraction to her, he didn't know much about her life after age seven. They stopped at a local pizzeria for lunch while her family was training Trevor and her grandmother was doting on Kendra and Sarah.

  They sat in the Italian restaurant waiting for their pizza and Thomas looked at Abby and said, "Okay, give me a list of all of your favorites. I don't know enough about the woman I love."

  She smirked at him and said, "I'm not sure you can handle my favorites."

  "Oh, I can handle anything you send out," he joked. "Come on! Let's hear it. Rapid fire. I want to know everything about you before the pizza get's here," he grinned and pretended to hit a timer.

  "Okay, you asked for it." She paused for dramatic effect while Thomas drummed his fingers on the table. When he stopped, she let it rip. "Green, eighties rock, sweats and a tee, chocolate, Connor, books, Great Gatsby, dancing, romantic comedies, tiger, tiger stripped blanket, lilies, beaches and Ireland. Your turn," she said. "Quick, I can see them taking our slices out of the oven," she added in a sing song voice.

  Thomas feigned annoyance, "Fine! Blue, All American Rejects, jeans and a tee, teriyaki chicken, Spiderman, books, A Tale of Two Cities, biking, camping, Action, Air Force One, forests, Hawaii, and Abby Fitzpatrick." Just then the pizza arrived and they both started to crack up. "That was actually kind of cool," he added.

  "I agree," she replied and took a bite of her pizza.

  They talked some more, elaborated on their favorites, and continued eating their pizza. He scoffed at the idea that she thought she could make him a competent dancer. He enjoyed this part of the day most. He finally knew a little bit about this woman he was so in love with, and the more he learned, the deeper his love for her became. He looked forward to a lifetime of growing more in love with Abby Fitzpatrick. He prayed he would defeat Devlin because he didn't want anything to stop this love before it had a chance to blossom.

  Thomas gazed into Abby's green eyes, and he loved every question she had asked him about his life. She wanted to know all the same things he did. They talked about their likes, dislikes, favorite things, greatest day, and this day was fast becoming one of them. He finished his pizza after she did, and they left to continue walking.

  When they were a half mile from the house, Abby said, "TJ, I think we're being followed. Grey Explorer, third car back. They keep parking and then pulling out when we get a little further ahead."

  "Let's try and lose them," Thomas replied. They gave a quick glance back and then turned left down the next street. They began to run before the grey Explorer had a chance to make the turn. At the end of the short block, they made another left which brought them to the front of the high school. Thomas wanted to kick himself because this was the last place he wanted to be. Too many people that could get hurt, not to mention all of the camera phones these kids would have. It was too late to change direction so they continued running past the school. Thomas was starting to get nervous, and even in the early December temperature he could feel sweat on his neck.

  They ran down the next street which was one way going in the opposite direction. A red Civic was backing out as the Explorer tried to pursue but was blocked by the car. The driver of the Explorer laid on
his horn, but the Civic refused to move. The man honked his car horn, rolled his window down and began cursing out the driver of the Explorer. It seemed that for once, an angry, Staten Island driver had come in handy. They continued their sprint to Hylan Boulevard and made the left towards the entrance of Wolf's Pond Park.

  Thomas called over to Abby, "Let's try and lose them in the park. There shouldn't be too many people there and we can fight if we have to."

  "Sounds like a plan," she called back while matching him, stride for stride.

  The Explorer chased them as far as it could go. Then, four men in black suits jumped out of the SUV and began to chase them on foot. Thomas and Abby ran across a field towards some trees. There were a few people out walking dogs and Thomas almost swore. He didn't want any witnesses to what might happen if they were forced to fight.

  They were already half way across the field by the time their pursuers reached the field. All of a sudden, four more appeared on the other side of the field. Thomas noticed some interested observers watching the brewing showdown. It was possible that a skirmish here would involve the authorities and expose them all. Abby couldn't Shift and Thomas couldn't draw his sword. They would have to hope to make it through the four men in front of them before the other four caught up. They were almost ten yards from the confrontation when two of the men in front of them pulled out guns and took aim. Abby dropped behind Thomas before the first shot was fired. Thomas' telekinesis put the bullet in the ground six inches to his left. He repeated the process with the next three shots until they were upon their mystery attackers. Thomas was now covered in sweat, and he had to force himself to focus on the fight. Both his and Abby's lives were on the line.

  The remaining spectators were hiding behind benches or trees. Dogs were barking, and their owners were pulling them behind their hiding places in the attempt to keep their pets safe while the showdown on the field continued. Thomas ducked as he reached the first man. Abby leapt over him and into their attacker with a powerful kick that put the man on his back. Thomas took the second man off his feet with an uppercut while grabbing the gun hand of the third and pulling him in for a knee to the face that took consciousness from him. Abby was locked in combat with the fourth man and Thomas knew the others would catch up to them. He turned to face them in time to deflect another gunshot aimed at him. Just then, a large, powerfully built man lunged at him with a giant sword. He spun out of the way, coming up with a kick powerful enough to break the gunman's arm. He was starting to use his powers just enough to put a quick end to the fight. He didn't want to end up on the evening news, but he would protect Abby at all cost, just as he knew she would do the same.

  Abby had moved on to her third foe while Thomas dodged the swords of the remaining men. At least there were no longer any guns in play. He dodged another swing of the sword, and he saw the gunman with the broken arm try and sneak up on Abby. Before he could call out to her, she had back-flipped behind the man and taken consciousness from him with a blow to his temple. Her last opponent was a pretty powerful Zdrada, and Thomas was unsure she could take him without shifting. At least he hasn't drawn his sword yet, Thomas thought.

  Ethereal swords were light weight and very strong. The sword itself was comprised of two sections, each about two feet long. This made it easier for Paladins to carry concealed swords because it could be mounted to the inside of a jacket. The second piece would slide down the first from the hilt to form the full length of the sword. It would lock into place, and was held there by powerful magnets. Once deployed, it looked like one solid piece of metal until it was deactivated. The sword was an interesting design and Thomas had never seen it anywhere else.

  The Zdrada Abby faced either didn't have a sword or just didn't feel Abby was enough of a threat to use it on. That decision would turn out to be a fatal mistake for the man. He leapt in for another attack but Abby shifted her hand to a tiger claw, tore through the man's abdomen and shifted back in one motion. Her sleeve shredded, but anyone watching from behind would have thought she just punched the man in the stomach. He went down hard and she finished him off with a powerful kick to the face, and blood began to cover the grass around him.

  Thomas used the distraction to grab one of his pursuer's swords with a telekinetic push that slashed it into his partner's arm. As the look of confusion hit his assailant's face, Thomas pounced on him. He broke his attacker's nose and eye socket with one punch. Thomas rolled just in time to avoid the angry slash of the last Zdrada. Abby grabbed the Zdrada's sword arm on his backswing and he pulled with all of his considerable strength sending Abby flying in the process. Thomas used the distraction to hit him twice and he was now close enough to grab the sword arm without risking decapitation. Abby landed on her hands and used them to propel her body into a flip that would take her further away from the angry Zdrada. The sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance.

  By this time, Thomas' foe had been disarmed, but he was still not going down and the sirens were getting louder. Thomas swept his opponent's legs and took him down. Abby kicked at his head which distracted him enough for Thomas to land the knockout punch. With the last of their attackers neutralized, Thomas and Abby disappeared into the trees, and were a few blocks away by the time the police arrived.

  *****

  The police apprehended the men on the field. They were all injured or unconscious. Two of them needed an ambulance. The police began to question the remaining onlookers as to what had happened, and a couple of them produced their phones and showed them the whole incident.

  An Officer approached a man there with his black and brown German Shepherd and said, "I'm Officer Donaldson, can you tell me what happened here, Sir?" A slight breeze moved the December air just enough to cause a chill, and Donaldson zipped his jacket up just a bit higher.

  "I think so," the man replied. "I was leaning against a tree waiting for Duke to finish his business, and reading about last night's Knicks game on my phone, when suddenly, this guy and this girl came running across the field. I was like, 'what's going on?'" He bent over and began to pet his dog before continuing. "They were moving fast, like they were running from something. Then, four dudes in suits came running across the field after them." The police officer looked at him as he spoke while Duke sat by his owner's feet.

  "Yeah, there was no way the suits were gonna catch them. They were moving too fast, but then four more guys came from the other side of the field and pulled out guns. That's when I dove for cover, and started recording the fight on my phone. They shot at the couple a few times, but they kept missing and then the girl kicked one of the dudes right in the face. She did like a flying sidekick that took the guy off his feet! It was pretty impressive. The other guy beat up the men that were shooting at him. Then he took on the other four suits. One of them was shooting at him, too, but he kept missing, I swear, these dudes were like Storm Troopers. Worst... shots... ever! Then a big guy pulled out a sword from, nowhere."

  "Wait," the police officer said, looking confused. "The suspects were trying to shoot the unarmed man and woman, then, when they missed, they pulled out swords? Really?" By this time the breeze had picked up and the colorful trees were swaying with the wind.

  "Yeah," the man replied undaunted. "And the guy being chased was like Chuck Norris. No joke! Then the girl did a flip over one guy and took him down and she took out another guy with a kick to the face. Then her friend took the last guy down and they kept running away. I don't know why they ran away, the two of them took out eight armed men, and it didn't look hard for them."

  "And you're sure that's what happened?" The officer asked with a dubious look.

  "Yeah, just check my phone. I recorded most of it." He looked at the officer and added, "It was one of the most intense things I've ever seen, and pretty scary, too. People could've gotten shot." He handed his phone to the officer and bent over to pet his dog again.

  "Well, the important thing is no civilians were hurt. The media is gonna have a field day
with this as it is. We'll put out an APB for the couple that got away so we can try and find out what was going on. Thank you for your time. I do have to take your phone into evidence. Wait here and I'll give you a voucher to come to the station house and pick up your phone." Officer Donaldson walked back to report to his sergeant and fill out the voucher. The other witnesses had given similar statements, and two other phones were confiscated. At least all of the suspects had been apprehended. Maybe they would be able to give some clue as to what was going on. They were facing pretty serious charges.

  Chapter twenty-seven

  Thomas and Abby arrived back at the safe house out of breath, and to an unexpected sight. The Council of Light was convened in their living room. As they closed the door behind them, Grams brought out two large glasses of water. Thomas and Abby accepted the drinks with gratitude, and wasted no time quenching their thirst. Thomas finished his without coming up for air before Gunter began to speak. "High marks, you took on eight Zdrada at once without revealing yourselves to be Ethereals. Entering the park was an interesting choice, though."

  "There wasn't really anywhere else to go. I thought that the park would have the least amount of people and the lowest possible collateral damage. "Thomas replied.

  "Well, that's the least of our worries now," Gunter added.

  "What does that mean?" Abby asked.

  "First, let me tell you some big news you may have missed while you were out this morning. You may have noticed that Asaph is no longer among us. Jonathan Fitzpatrick was elected the new head of the Undaraii clan after a vote of no confidence was proposed by the Claytons, O'Learys, Bensons, Stevensons, Cavanaughs and Fitzpatricks late last night. All of the family heads were consulted and Asaph was voted out. Asa and Malachi are no longer in charge of matters that relate to your clan. Jonathan has not yet chosen their successors."